A closer look at Collins, Benford

Following are the interviews I conducted with both earlier Thursday afternoon.

First, an interview with Buzz Williams:

What do Aki and Tony bring to the table for MU? Like I said at the press conference, I want to hire the absolute best staff in the country. We're not through putting together our staff, but the No. 1 talent that I wanted to make sure our staff possesses is the ability to take care of our guys. Take care of the guy that are here, take care of the guys that are going to be here. Both of these guys are extremely talented at that. They're both former college players. That's the No. 1 thing. It's imperative to me that every member of our staff has the ability to do every facet that it takes to continue to have a program like we have. I don't want to hire one-dimensional coaches, nor do I want to recruit one-dimensional players, and I think both of these guys have the ability to do a lot of different things.

What kind of prior relationships did you have with Aki and Tony? I've known Tony Benford all 14 years I've been in coaching. He was already a full-time assistant at New Mexico when I started at UT-Arlington. Since the BCS has been formed he's been in a BCS league the entire time. Has great relationships in the Midwest. Because he's a former player and because of the places he's been and the coaches that he's worked for, has the ability to do a lot of different things, not just recruit and not just coach. He'll be great with our guys, he'll be great on the floor. His next move will be as a head coach - that's my opinion. I want to hire guys that can all be in a position that their next position can be that of a head coach. I've known Tony all along.

Aki I have known. Got to know him through one of my most trusted people. I think it's important we have a presence where we play. I think any coach will tell you that, that it's important to be able to recruit where you play. Obviously he's from New York, went to high school in New York, has great relationships up and down the East Coast, and he will be able to help us continue to recruit where we play. He has great relationships with coaches in the East, in the Mid-Atlantic area. We've got to recruit here first, recruit our own state and then expand from there, but I think you've got to recruit in the Big East region. Aki has great relationships in those regions and I think because of where we're located, Tony Benford has great relationships in the Midwest. So both of those guys from a recruiting perspective are very talented at what they do, but in different areas - they're not going to criss-cross each other.

Will they be hitting the ground running? Aki will be here at 1; Tony will be here at 7. We'll work tonight and through the morning and figure out where we need to go and what we need to do from a recruiting perspective through April 30 at midnight. We can have individual workouts with our current players up until Sunday night at midnight, and then that's the end of it. Then we've got to make sure that up through April 30 at midnight we're where we need to be from a recruiting perspective. So we'll hit the ground running for sure.

What's it been like being pretty much a one-man show since being hired? This is Day 16, and I feel like we have utilized every minute of every day in a positive way. It's been great to be with our players on the floor and off the floor. I've spent a great deal of time with our guys and I have been on the road recruiting. The most important thing is to take care of our players that are here. All coaches work a lot of hours. That's not to say I'm doing more or doing less; that's just kind of part of it. The transition, no matter where you go or what you do when there's a transition like this, you've got to make sure your priorities are in line and you're spending the appropriate time with those priorities.

Are you any closer to making your final hire? I think that as you put together a staff, it's like recruiting, putting your team together. I did not make a move with Aki or Tony until I had complete peace that they were exactly what we needed, where we needed and how we needed. I'm going to hire the other coach -- it could be today, it could be next week, it could be 10 days from now - when I have complete peace that they are the absolute right piece to the puzzle in regards to making sure we have the best staff in the country. I'm not going to rush to do that. I'm not going to hire a staff just to say, ‘OK, check that off my list, I've hired a staff.' I think that you have to think through things, be a great listener and a good thinker to make sure that all of the pieces fit together to form the best team that you can have, and that's what I'm doing.

Jerel McNeal needs to announce by Sunday what he's going to do regarding the NBA draft. Have you been in contact with him about that? Jerel and I have talked every day. Obviously he doesn't have to make his decision today. We're going to make sure that we get the right intel, that we get the right information as it relates to Jerel and his family, and making this decision. Whether or not he makes the decision, he's not in a position to decide that right now. But it is something that we've talked about every day for the last 16 days.

Here's the Collins interview:

What kind of former relationship did you have with Buzz? I've known Buzz approximately a week and a half. We have a mutual acquaintance in coach Billy Gillispie. I got to know Coach Gillispie on the road during recruiting last year when he first got the Kentucky job. He called me as soon as Buzz got the job and said, ‘Listen, a friend of mine got the job, I threw your name to him, and I think it'd be a great opportunity for both you guys. I told him that you're going to be a star in this business and he needs somebody that's going to be willing to work and have a great relationship with players.' Spoke to Buzz on the phone, came out last week for an interview and now I'm back here today.

You arrive with a reputation as a strong recruiter with East Coast ties. How do you view that reputation? Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. You can be the best coach in America, in the world, but if you don't any players it's just Xs and Os. You have to be a good bench coach, and you have to be a good recruiter. For me personally, my ties up and down the East Coast, I think it's going to be essential moving forward from this point on. One of the things that Buzz and I talked about in the interview was our desire to win a national championship. I think that's why you play the game, that's why you get into this business. You want to impact the lives of young people in a positive manner, make sure that in four years they walk across that stage and get that degree. But from a basketball perspective we have to recruit quality individuals who can do it academically and athletically at a high level, so recruiting's definitely going to be a big part of anything we do here.

I started making some phone calls and letting my contacts on the East Coast know I'm taking this job at Marquette, and now it's time for them to help me out," Collins said. "We need some players, and we have to compete with Syracuse and Georgetown and Notre Dame, which goes into New York strong. The New York schools are trying to protect their home turf. We have to be able to get in there and get some players that can help us compete at a high level. And we also have to be able to recruit up and down the East Coast, as well as the country. There's players all over the place that can play; it's our job as assistant coaches to go out and find those players and sell Marquette.

Being from Brooklyn, you must have a decent knowledge base as far as the Big East goes, right? I grew up in the era when the Big East was the conference to play in, even more than the ACC. When Georgetown was at their height, when St. John's and Syracuse used to have their legendary battles. I'm familiar with it, especially with being back in the Northeast the last two years. Obviously guard play is huge in this conference, and you're going to have big, physical post players who aren't afraid to battle and get down and be enforcers. I'm very familiar with the style of play, growing up and knowing a lot of kids that played in the Big East, and watching those guys on a daily basis. I think I have a good background with that. I obviously need to sit down and watch a little tape on our guys to see what we can do, and when I'm out there on the road be able to find some more pieces to the puzzle.

What's your impression of MU's team as it currently stands? I think that our post play is underrated. I think one of the things that we have to do as a staff is to get those guys to believe in themselves, that they can be productive. Everybody I talk to, they always talk about the guards. Our guards and very good and they're talented, but I think we'll go as far as our big men allow us to go. All of the reports I've had over the last two weeks they've really started to make strides in the right direction. Obviously we have to get some more bodies in there to get those guys some help, but if we can get each of our guys from No. 1 to No. 13 performing at a high level and giving it their all, we're going to have a successful season.

How quickly will you need to get going once you're in Milwaukee? I packed for a few days. I don't know what Coach's game plan is. I know I'm going out (Friday). I may be out for a couple days and then come back next weekend. Obviously this being the last weekend to go out and see guys, obviously I think I'll get more accomplished being out there, seeing people, letting them know where I'm at, watching recruits work out and in games. I think in a couple weeks I'll come back and get situated. But right now I'm just going to hit the ground running and see where it lands.

And finally, Benford:

What kind of prior relationship did you have with Buzz? I've known Buzz a long time. He's always been one of those guys that you always knew was going to be successful in this business because of how hard he worked. We recruited against each other; he beat me on some players and I beat him on some players, so he's a guy I've got a great deal of respect for. I think he's one of the best young head coaches in America.

Did your addition to the staff happen quickly? Not really. I didn't want to move, to be honest with you. (laughs) I've been here a couple years with Coach Sadler to try and build a program; we had a successful year, won 20 games for the first time and we're working on next year's recruiting class. Long story short, Buzz was still looking and he had talked to Coach Sadler and they're good friends along with Coach Gillispie, obviously, and he said what he was looking for and (Sadler) said I have a guy here, Tony, who may have some interest in it. We talked about it and it looked like it may work. Again, I wasn't looking -- Coach Sadler and I feel like we have everything in place here, but it worked out. It can be a good situation for Buzz and myself, and I feel like I can bring a lot to the program.

Do you feel like the experience you bring will be valuable? I think it's going to be a situation where I'm working with Buzz, and not for him," Benford said. "We're working together for the same goal, which is to win a national championship. I think I can bring a lot to the table to help Buzz and help the program continue to be at an elite level. Buzz said, 'I need a coach -- not just a recruiter. Someone who will help me in all aspects of the program.' And I know that with my experience through the years, I've been fortunate to be with some really good coaches and learned a great deal about what to do and what not to do, and I think it's going to be a great fit.

What do you know about the Big East? It's big. (laughs) A lot of quality teams. No doubt, the Big East is probably the deepest conference in America. You look around and there's quality coaches, quality players on every roster. You play in great venues night in and night out, in front of sellout crowds. It's just a great basketball league that's obviously got great history and tradition. The thing that attracts me to the league is the opportunity to coach at Marquette and with Buzz at a storied program. Obviously everybody knows what Coach McGuire meant to the university and what he accomplished, Coach Crean and what he's done over the years. Then I got to know Coach Majerus when I was at New Mexico and he was at Utah. So great coaches, great history and I think Marquette is one of the elite programs in the Big East and I'm attracted to that.

What are your impressions of MU's roster? I know they have some of the best guards in the country. I had the opportunity to watch a couple games this year, and when you start at the guard position with James, McNeal and Matthews, you have great perimeter players. The college game is a game of guards. Obviously you have to have size, and you've got a quality young player coming in in Chris Otule that can bring a lot. Buzz beat me on him. I know he's a really good player and has a chance to be special. With him in the mix with the guards and the other kids that are returning, I think you have an opportunity to have a great ballclub next year and I'm looking forward to getting to work with the guys and getting to know the guys.

How important will your Midwest recruiting ties be to MU? They're going to be huge. When you look at the success they had with Dwyane Wade and those guys, Cordell Henry - they've had some really good players that have come in there from that area, Chicago and throughout the Midwest, and I think that's going to be important. I think Marquette is a national name, but you always want to recruit within a 200-300 mile radius of your program. If you do that you can attract quality players, and we've got to make sure we get our share.

What are your immediate plans once you get to Milwaukee? See the kids (Friday) and then get on some flights at night and be ready to go Saturday for recruiting. We've got a couple tournaments in Texas, we've got a couple tournaments in the West and a tournament in Akron. We've got to hit the ground running so we can make sure we get involved with some kids that we weren't involved with because we've got to replace three very good players. So we've got to make sure we get a couple great players in this recruiting class.